αFAP-specific nanobodies mediate a highly precise retargeting of modified AAV2 capsids thereby enabling specific transduction of tumor tissues.

Due to the refractiveness of tumor tissues to adeno-associated virus (AAV) transduction, AAV vectors are poorly explored for cancer therapy delivery. Here, we aimed to engineer AAVs to target tumors by enabling the specific engagement of fibroblast activation protein (FAP). FAP is a cell surface receptor distinctly upregulated in the reactive tumor stroma, but rarely expressed in healthy tissues.

Continuity of supervision: Balancing continuous and episodic relationships for assessment and learning.

Introduction: Meaningful supervisor-resident relationships enhance feedback and learning, yet not all relationships reach this potential. While there is increasing interest in continuity of supervision (CoS) to build relationships that support feedback and promote learning, there remains a limited understanding of how relationships develop and influence assessment over time. The aim of this study was to explore how supervisors and learners in postgraduate medical education perceive CoS relationships and their impact on feedback and assessment.

Protocol to phenotype and quantify mycobacteria-specific myeloid cells from human airways by mass cytometry.

Alveolar macrophages and other myeloid cells in the human airways are the primary cell types responding to respiratory pathogens. Here, we present a protocol for in vitro stimulation of cryopreserved human bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells with mycobacterial antigens for phenotyping and quantifying proinflammatory cytokine responses in myeloid cells by mass cytometry. We demonstrate that the measure of markers of myeloid lineage and function is stable after freezing stained cells thereby allowing for batched analyses and/or machine downtime.

The effect of selected Non- yeasts and cold-contact fermentation on the production of low-alcohol marula fruit beer.

The last decade has seen increased consumer demand for zero and low-alcohol beverages. Cold-contact fermentation (CCF) in combination with non- can be an effective method for producing low-alcohol fruit beverages with desirable qualities. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a CCF process to produce low-alcohol marula fruit beer using selected non- yeasts.

Process of development of decentralised clinical trial methodology for cancer clinical trials in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Aim: To develop processes for the development of decentralised clinical trial methodology for Aotearoa New Zealand, focussing on equity of access to cancer clinical trials for Māori, Pacific people, vulnerable communities and those in rural settings.

Methods: A national steering committee supported by Te Aho o Te Kahu - Cancer Control Agency was formed to: guide the adaptation and implementation of overseas decentralised clinical trial models to suit the needs of Aotearoa New Zealand with an equity focus; provide high-level oversight and expertise for direction and development of policies, procedures and infrastructure compliant with ICH GCP R2; and implement a national strategy.

Results: Twelve standard operating procedures were developed, as well as a supervision plan and a glossary.

A retrospective study investigating semen parameter profiles among male patients attending a fertility center in the UAE: Insights from a nationality perspective.

Objectives: The current study assessed the epidemiological trends of semen phenotypes and their association with ethnicity among men seeking fertility treatment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Methods: This retrospective study assessed the anthropometric information including age, body mass index (BMI), and nationality, along with semen parameters of men who visited a Fertility Center in Abu Dhabi, UAE between January 2011 and July 2022. To understand the epidemiological trend of semen parameters amongst UAE nationals, propensity score analysis and logistic regression were performed.

Solar Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure Among Opencast Miners in Namibia with the Use of Electronic Dosimeters: A Feasibility Study.

The lack of information on exposure of opencast mineworkers to solar ultraviolet radiation, a group I carcinogen, was addressed. The feasibility of using electronic dosimeters in the determination of exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation was investigated. The objective of the study was to determine the feasibility of measuring the occupational exposure of opencast mineworkers to solar ultraviolet radiation using electronic dosimeters.

Reward functioning in posttraumatic stress disorder, metabolic syndrome, and psychological resilience.

Background: Reward system dysfunction may play a role in the comorbidity of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychological resilience, through its effects on the reward system, may modulate outcomes in PTSD. Utilising a monetary incentive delay task during functional magnetic resonance imaging in a case-control study (PTSD, n = 88, trauma-exposed controls [TEC], n = 85), we aimed to investigate reward system function in relation to PTSD, MetS, and psychological resilience.

Preoperative autonomic failure in neonates with critical congenital heart disease.

Background: Neonates with critical congenital heart disease (cCHD) undergo a complicated transition to ex-utero life. However, continuous monitoring of autonomic tone using heart rate variability is currently lacking.

Materials And Methods: We retrieved continuous electrocardiograms from the time of admission or from 10 days prior to surgery for neonates with dextro-transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA) and hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).

Incipient resistance of the African maize stemborer, Busseola fusca (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to Cry2Ab2 maize in South Africa.

Background: Resistance of Busseola fusca (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to Cry1Ab was documented in 2006, 7 years after the first cultivation of MON 810 in South Africa. This was mitigated by introducing a second-generation Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) maize (MON 89034), which contains the Cry1A.105 and Cry2Ab2 proteins.

A potential platform for future vaccine trials identifies high incidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic influenza infection among children aged 6-23 months in South Africa.

Background: Approaches for determining whether influenza vaccination prevents infection, attenuates illness, or both, are important for developing improved vaccines. We estimated influenza infection incidence, and evaluated symptom ascertainment methodologies in children to inform future vaccine trial design.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study among children aged 6-23 months from May-October 2022.

Genomic epidemiology of early SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics in Bangladesh.

Background: Genomic epidemiology has helped reconstruct the global and regional movement of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, there is still a lack of understanding of SARS-CoV-2 spread in some of the world's least developed countries (LDCs).

Methods: To begin to address this disparity, we studied the transmission dynamics of the virus in Bangladesh during the country's first COVID-19 wave by analysing case reports and whole-genome sequences from all eight divisions of the country.

Asymmetry of Directed Brain Connectivity at Birth in Low-Risk Full-Term Newborns.

Purpose: Functional connectivity hubs were previously identified at the source level in low-risk full-term newborns by high-density electroencephalography (HD-EEG). However, the directionality of information flow among hubs remains unclear. The aim of this study was to study the directionality of information flow among source level hubs in low-risk full-term newborns using HD-EEG.

EpiFusion: Joint inference of the effective reproduction number by integrating phylodynamic and epidemiological modelling with particle filtering.

Accurately estimating the effective reproduction number (Rt) of a circulating pathogen is a fundamental challenge in the study of infectious disease. The fields of epidemiology and pathogen phylodynamics both share this goal, but to date, methodologies and data employed by each remain largely distinct. Here we present EpiFusion: a joint approach that can be used to harness the complementary strengths of each field to improve estimation of outbreak dynamics for large and poorly sampled epidemics, such as arboviral or respiratory virus outbreaks, and validate it for retrospective analysis.

COVID-19 pandemic interventions reshaped the global dispersal of seasonal influenza viruses.

The global dynamics of seasonal influenza viruses inform the design of surveillance, intervention, and vaccination strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a singular opportunity to evaluate how influenza circulation worldwide was perturbed by human behavioral changes. We combine molecular, epidemiological, and international travel data and find that the pandemic's onset led to a shift in the intensity and structure of international influenza lineage movement.

Access and use of sexual and reproductive health services among asylum-seeking and refugee women in high-income countries: A scoping review.

Background: Refugee and asylum-seeking women are known to experience a myriad of intersecting sociocultural, institutional, and systemic barriers when accessing healthcare services after resettlement in high-income countries. Barriers can negatively affect service uptake and engagement, contributing to health inequities and forgone care. Access to sexual and reproductive healthcare (e.

Depression, anxiety and coping mechanisms among mental healthcare practitioners during COVID-19.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed the psychological functioning of mental healthcare practitioners under severe strain. Coping methods may affect mental health outcomes.

Aim: The study examined the relationship between depression, anxiety, stress, and coping styles utilised by mental healthcare practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A conceptual framework for psychiatric nurses to facilitate medication compliance among adults living with depression.

Background:  Medication non-compliance is a significant healthcare issue that is widespread. Extensive research has identified factors that contribute to medication non-compliance in different healthcare settings. As a result, there was a need to develop a conceptual framework to facilitate medication compliance among adults living with depression.

Mindfulness Exercises Reduce Acute Physiologic Stress Among Female Clinicians.

Importance: Approximately 50% of clinicians experience excessive emotional, physical, and mental stress, with repercussions across the entire medical system. Mindfulness exercises may mitigate this excessive stress. Heart rate variability (HRV) is an objective stress measure that can quantify which mindfulness exercises provide the greatest stress reduction.

Post-Meningitic Syndrome: Pathophysiology and Consequences of Streptococcal Infections on the Central Nervous System.

Streptococcus species represent a significant global cause of meningitis, leading to brain damage through bacterial virulence factors and the host inflammatory response. Upon entering the central nervous system (CNS), excessive inflammation leads to various neurological and psychological complications. This review explores the pathophysiological mechanisms and associated outcomes of streptococcal meningitis, particularly its short- and long-term neurological sequelae.